Password security is one of the all-time battles on the subject of cybersecurity. No matter the evidence to back up why passwords like, “Password” are dangerous to use, they still find their way into the most commonly used passwords lists.
With the technology available to cybercriminals today, eight-digit passwords can be cracked within seconds.
According to Cybernews, the most commonly used passwords in 2022 (so far) are:
- 123456
- 123456789
- Qwerty
- Password
- 1234
- Qwerty123
- 1q2w3e
- 12345678
- 111111
- 1234567890
Cybercriminals can be stopped, or at least slowed in their ways by understanding some best practices of password creation. Maybe the most basic rule of thumb, the more characters your password contains, the safer you will be online. It’s recommended that passwords contain 12 or more characters, with random numbers and symbols thrown in.
LONGEVITY
Changing your passwords regularly can be seen as a daunting task. However, it may save you from becoming the victim of a cyberattack. The fact is, the longer you use the same password, the higher chance you have of being hacked.
CREATIVITY
When creating your passwords, you can be as creative as you’d like with the letters, numbers and characters you add. Passphrases are a sequence of discreet words that are used for their length and complexity. They've become a nifty way to create a difficult password in the eyes of hackers but also one that's easy enough for you to remember.
CUSTOM
Another fault of password creation is continually using the same password. No matter how strong the password is, if one is compromised, all of the associated accounts will be under the hacker’s control. It's best to create a custom password for each portal.
AUTHENTICATION
Perhaps the most important tip is to use two factor authentication. Two factor authentication, sometimes called multi-factor authentication, is a method in which a user is granted access to a site after presenting two or more pieces of evidence that they are real.
MFA could be the barrier between a cybercriminal and accessing your personal accounts, so when that extra pop up comes up, be sure to take the time to enable it.
FREE RESOURCES
SDN Communications has released our sixth series of posters to help businesses educate employees about relevant cybersecurity topics.
Our latest infographic on how to create a strong password in 2022 is below.
Use the form below the infographic to request a download of that poster and two others for your business.
